


Dreams of a Broken Man

by Evlina



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Difficult Life, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Drama, F/M, Memories, Minor Character Death, Moral Dilemmas, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-26 23:33:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19778755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evlina/pseuds/Evlina
Summary: "I can't betray my brother once more. It is more than I can handle.""You know you will."A lonely Desmond Sycamore finds himself tormented in Froenborg's cave.





	Dreams of a Broken Man

**Author's Note:**

> This thing was supposed to recall Desmond's painful memories about his family as soon as he meets Aurora, but in the end, it turned up to be slightly different from what I expected. I had to edit the whole summary and title... Yet, I find it to be really interesting, and since it was something I wanted to write anyways, I'm uploading it this way. Hope you like it!

Desmond’s silhouette disappeared as he entered the Azran cave. It was then that the mysterious door closed, leaving him all alone in this cold and marvelous place. He was truly amazed by his surroundings: it was so ancient, yet so well preserved. The beauty of this place was a gift to him who had spent so many years working on the Azran’s secrets – he was close to discovering their legacy, he just knew it.

The archaeologist was proud, _so very proud_ of this achievement.

The vengeful scientist could not help but plan his strategy.

His _dark side_ was always there, waiting in the shadows, and as soon as it was showing, Desmond was not able to silence it.

But this time, something suddenly broke him out of his reverie. No, not something – someone. A young, blonde girl, trapped in ice, stood before him. She seemed asleep and peaceful. Her pale skin seemed to be so cold, yet she had to be alive. At the sight of this miracle, everything came rushing back to him for the millionth time.

He remembered his own daughter, this innocent and beautiful young girl, running around in the living room.

He remembered his wife whom he embraced while the little girl was playing.

He could hear her voice, as if she was whispering in his ear, “ _Daddy! Daddy, please, come and play with me!_ ”

Lost in thought, he didn’t realize he was speaking out loud, _“I’m coming, darling. Wait just a moment.”_

But no one could reply. No one would reply, of course. The only thing he could hear was the sound of his own voice echoing in the caverns.

The next second, the young emissary had disappeared. Everything went dark and then he saw it. He saw _them_. His family covered in their own blood, lying on the ground, at his feet. He saw the disaster he so desperately wanted to forget.

He screamed. He could not stop screaming. The pain made him fall on his knees, and his eyes filled with tears.

“Why? Why does this keep happening? Why can’t I escape this?”

He pleaded for help, but the pain was still here, unbearable. He was all alone with himself.

Trembling, he looked up. This was the first time he finally understood _why_ it hurt so much.

The emissary. She looked just like his daughter.

He had a resolution. He needed to let go of all this, but first, he had to end it.

He reached for his backpack, opened it, took some paper and a pen and started writing a letter.

_“Dear Hershel Layton…”_

For the first time in ages, _Hershel Bronev_ was requesting his brother’s help.

* * *

“Soon, Layton will come. And then the _real game_ will begin.”

“No. I can’t betray him once more. It is more than I can handle.”

“You know you will. That’s the only thing keeping you alive.”

The two sides of him could not stop fighting inside his head. It was always the same.

It was ridiculous. Deep down, he knew he had no reason left to _impersonate_ this naïve fool of Sycamore, but he had to if he wanted to go through with his plan. Now, the archaeologist was nothing else than an impersonation of his old self – a long-lost self.

Why would he pretend that he was happy, while he did not want to live anymore? His one, true goal was revenge. It had always been revenge, and it should never have changed. Had he known his happiness would be stolen from him twice, he would have acted differently.

Now, even _Descole_ could not deny anymore that he was broken. He was nothing but a broken man. He could be whoever he wanted, it would not change how he _really_ felt on the inside. Standing in front of a young girl looking just like his own daughter didn’t reduce the pain – on the contrary. It was starting to become unbearable.

That’s why he had to betray his _brother_ one last time before disappearing for good.

One last adventure, and everything would change. This was his final task.


End file.
